Worker who stole cheques gets suspended imprisonment

Dubai: A worker, who stole three cheques from an artworks company after his request for a medical leave to treat his eyes was rejected, was handed a three-month suspended imprisonment.

The company’s Indian supervisor discovered that three blank cheques were stolen from the safe and that the passport of a 25-year-old Indian worker was also missing last month.

Once the supervisor called up the worker and checked with him if he had taken the cheques, the latter denied it at first but then called again and admitted that he did.

The Dubai Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of stealing from his workplace.

Citing grounds of leniency, presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi suspended the defendant’s three-month jail term for a period of three years.

“I did. I have partial blindness in my eye and I asked the boss for a leave to go for treatment at home but he refused. I took the cheques because I needed money for treatment,” the weeping defendant argued in court as he pleaded guilty.

The Indian accused told the court that he was forced to do what he did and that there was a labour dispute between him and his employer.

He produced a court slip confirming that there is a pending labour case at the Dubai Labour Court.

According to the primary ruling, the defendant will be deported.

The supervisor said the theft happened on the company’s premises in Al Quoz Industrial Area.

“When I went to open the office, I realised that the keys were missing from my key chain. I went back home and got the spare keys. The key wouldn’t go into the slot fully when I tried to open the door. Then I realised that there was another key on the other side of the lock. Then I managed to open the door following several attempts. When I checked the safe, I discovered that three blank cheque leaves that had been signed by the owner were missing along with the defendant’s passport. When I called the accused and asked him about the cheques, he denied. Then he called again and admitted that he took them,” he testified.

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